Over the past two decades the construction industry has seen the introduction and increased usage of manufactured structural building materials. These materials come in various sizes and shapes from narrow laminated strand lumber rim boards to thicker laminated veneer lumber joists and rafters. Also gaining in popularity has been the use of manufactured “I” joist products in rafter and floor systems. These new products, combined with traditional dimensional building materials result in a variety of different shapes and thicknesses of structural materials on today's jobsite.
The addition of the “I beam” shaped joist or rafter has created the need for a versatile new class of portable power tool hanger, capable of hanging on varying shapes and thicknesses of materials. The lack of surface area on the sides of an “I beam” shape makes an ordinary U-shaped hanger prone to slipping when hung on a pitched “I beam”. Specifically, what is needed is a hanger for safely hanging the saw over the top of an “I beam” or pitched rafter. The hanger should rotate to lock the tool securely so it will not roll or slide off.
In addition, since the invention of portable power saws in the construction trade, there has been a need to support these tools in a vertical position with their trigger handle elevated to shorten the distance a worker needs to bend over to grip and lift it. Generally, with no table or edge-up supports to hang them on, portable power saws are simply laid on their side on the floor or ground, requiring a user bend over considerably further than if they were furnished with a hanger or support capable of propping them in a vertical, handle-up position. The occurrences of repetitive bending related back injuries in the construction workplace are at least partially due to such saw handling activities.
Refer to U.S. Pat. No. 2,841,192 by Martin. The Martin reference disposes a single forward projecting prong, integrally attached to a portable power saw. This attachment will hang a portable power saw fairly well on a horizontal joist or a shallow pitched rafter using a combination of the forward projecting prong and the saw body housing. However, when hung on “I beam” shaped rafters with greater pitches than those shown in the Martin drawings a lack of contact under the top chord will tend to allow the power saw to slip or roll off creating a potential hazard.
Most other designs limit the capability to hang on only dimensional 2× lumber. No reference shows a single member capable of supporting a portable power saw in a vertical, handle-up position and none address a method of locking a portable power tool onto “I beam” shaped materials securely.
It is therefore the main object of the invention to provide a hanger attachment for a portable power tool that can secure the tool on “I” shaped building materials safely.
It is another object of the invention to provide a single hanger that is capable of securely hanging a saw on varying shapes and thicknesses of both “I” shaped or rectangular materials.
It is another object of the invention to conveniently hang a saw on a joist, rafter or a sawhorse.
It is another object of the invention to provide a support for a portable power saw comprising a forward extending prong of sufficient length, that when used in combination with the saw base table leading edge, triangularly supports a power saw on end with the trigger handle upright.